


keep with me in the moment

by metropoliszone



Category: Bleach
Genre: Comedy, Competition, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Comedy, rivals as lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:55:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28251261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metropoliszone/pseuds/metropoliszone
Summary: A day in the life and times of Ichigo Kurosaki and his overgrown cat who is a human (allegedly).Secret Santa
Relationships: Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 3
Kudos: 60
Collections: GrimIchi Secret Santa Exchange 2020





	keep with me in the moment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sabliere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabliere/gifts).



> Happy Holidays sabliere! I hope you enjoy the fic! I wanted to have a good combination of romance and rivalry in here, so I hope it makes you feel all nice and fuzzy for the rest of your holidays.
> 
> This fic also has a Spotify playlist! I hope you enjoy listening to it while reading!
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5cBk6btDkbcrh6lDWJsm3l?si=3W22eWkbQm2sriA32AdVvw

“The hell you doin’, Kurosaki?”

Ichigo was slowly getting used to having a roommate (the term he told his father) here, slowly and surely. He didn’t mind being on his own, (at least no one would burst into his room and attempt to fight him,) and wasn’t eagerly looking for a roommate. However, sometimes things just happened. And sometimes, ‘things just happened’ just meant that Urahara did something and now Grimmjow was living with him. Honestly, he could never tell what Urahara was thinking and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know either. That mind was a minefield, he was pretty sure.

“Making breakfast. What do you want?”

“Meat.” Grimmjow moved over to the coffee machine to take a large sniff of it, “The fuck is this?”

“Coffee. You want to try some?” Ichigo looked at Grimmjow as he viewed the coffee pot, the spurts and hisses seemed to turn him into something more feline than human, pupils widening, and he swore that hair stood on end. This had only happened once before, and he really needed to get that apology package out. The dog is fine, at least, no lasting damage. Once again, Urahara’s weird antics at work. Thankfully, there was a way to send him back to normal.

“Fuck! Don’t spray me, Kurosaki!”

“It’s for your own good,” And then Ichigo got a chance to look down past the shirt that Grimmjow had ~~stolen~~ borrowed from him and then down a little further. Just a bit. Before turning bright red and looking up, “And put on some pants!” Spraying him with the bottle again to get him the hell out of the kitchen so he could actually wear some damn clothes. As Grimmjow was leaving to go back to the bedroom, Ichigo couldn’t help but try and cover his eyes, as he didn’t want to turn any redder.

That failed. That absolutely failed. Because when he has an opportunity to, he can’t help but look at that behind as it moves.

“Damn.”

~ ~ ~

Now that Grimmjow was wearing pants (with a grumble because Ichigo has a too hot apartment and it’s more comfortable to let it hang out,) Ichigo finally gave him breakfast. Fish, rice, egg, and of course, coffee. The whole thing is a fine enough breakfast for the slacker in his house. With the chopsticks, Grimmjow started to poke and prod at the food, “I said meat.” Grumbling, as he ripped apart some of the fish with the chopsticks (badly, someone needs to teach him how to properly use them, but that’s for another day).

“It’s what I have. Eat it,” Ichigo said, mixing up the egg and rice to eat with his coffee, “I’m showing you around town today, so clean your plate.” Breakfast was never an extravagant affair around his place, and with another body that he has to take care of, he has no desire to spend even more of his paycheck to feed him anything special.

“The fuck is in this town anyways?” Grimmjow stabbed his chopstick into a piece of fish with enough force to make Ichigo wince, “Pretty damn boring.”

“You’ve barely been here at all.”

“Still fuckin’ boring.”

“Once you go out and learn what’s here, you’ll see differently. Don’t stab your food.”

Grimmjow let out another grunt, stabbing another piece of fish and looking right at Ichigo while he did it, “Tch. You gonna take me to a fight? Feeling my bones creak.” He placed his chopsticks down on the table as he stretched, far enough for Ichigo to hear _bones_ crack. Holy fuck. Not really sure whether that’s hot or concerning. Probably both.

“We’re not going to any fights or getting into any.” Ichigo said, immediately doubting the words leaving his mouth. If there’s one thing he’s really good at, it’s getting into fights, after all. “Stop playing around and eat.”

“You’re not the fuckin’ boss of me, Kurosaki!” Grimmjow stabbed another piece of fish to eat it, his eyes looking right at Ichigo as if to challenge him to keep talking shit. And he’s not going to go for it, he’s not going to encourage it, he’s going to put a stop to it right here, right now. But those challenging eyes, that smirk that plays at Grimmjow’s lips with his teeth starting to show as if he’s going to encourage a fight.

Nope. Not playing into that.

“I don’t want to be the boss of you, I just want you to eat.” He placed his empty bowl on the table with the plate and drank his coffee while he waited for Grimmjow to finish his. “So eat, Grimmjow.”

“Yeah, whatever. And what’s this shit still?” He moved towards the coffee to grab it and sip it. His face changed slowly from curiosity to absolute loathing, spitting it out in front of him, “Ugh! The fuck?! You tryin’ to kill me?! Nasty shit!” Tossing his coffee back on the table and spitting out whatever was left in his mouth, trying to get the taste off of his tongue.

“The hell?!” Ichigo sputtered back, covered in coffee and cat spit (no better way to define that,) and shoved himself away from the table. “Don’t just spit it out, you animal!”

“It was fuckin’ gross! Don’t feed me shit like that!”

“I’m not going to feed you at all if you keep doing that!”

Ichigo attempted to wring out his shirt, which kept Grimmjow quiet. Not that he’s sure why, but it might have to do with the cool breeze he was feeling on his stomach. Great. Now he’s going to have to change again. Just what he wanted.

~ ~ ~

After he was able to dress himself in some new clothes, and got Grimmjow into something warm for the cooler weather, (probably the hardest part of the day,) they were ready to go out and experience the town. Ichigo wanted to show Grimmjow around now that the weather wasn’t freezing, and they still had groceries to go and get. Even if he didn’t want to blow all of his money on feeding the cat, he still wanted to give him a nice day in the human world. Something he could really enjoy.

“It’s too warm.”

“No, it’s not. You’re going to be fine, quit fighting it.”

And even if Grimmjow was in the mood to fight, he, at least, didn’t try to undress himself. Again. Ichigo sighed and tightened the scarf up around his neck. Moving a hand up to rest on his cheek, “It’s cold out here, you’re going to thank me later.” Letting out a light breath, his eyes looking at Grimmjow’s face. Which, even if they weren’t out in the cold yet, was already a very nice shade of red.

Cute.

“Shut the fuck up, Kurosaki.” Grimmjow turned his head away so he could at least hide some of his embarrassment.

Very cute.

“What’s the matter?” Ichigo let out a small chuckle, his own face starting to get red, “Cat got your tongue?” Letting out a light and soft chuckle as he began to leave his apartment, with Grimmjow letting out a grumble as he followed. Ichigo was incredibly easy to fluster, especially when Grimmjow knew the exact buttons to press. But getting him back? That was a treat all on its own. And no matter what else the day might bring, at least he was finally able to get Grimmjow right back. And that could only make his day even better.

As they stepped into the brisk air, he counted down for a moment, letting out a heavy breath until he heard the word “Fuck!”.

“Told you.”

“Shut the hell up!”

~ ~ ~

Groceries were the last stop, the first stop was the arcade that had popped up in recent years. Someone thought Karakura Town really needed an arcade, and Ichigo wasn’t going to complain at all about getting one, especially now. It’s something that he knew Grimmjow was really going to like the moment they got in there. And no, he hasn’t told Grimmjow of his great plan. May as well keep the man on his toes a little bit longer. Even if he seemed to be getting more and more impatient with it.

“Oy, are we almost there?” Grimmjow grumbled as he moved up beside Ichigo, looking right at him, “Y’keep promising me something fun.” Hands shoved in his pockets as he let out a breath, watching it cloud in front of him, his body attempting to try and keep warm as the weather seemed to not play nice with either of them. “Gonna fuckin’ disappoint me?”

“We’re almost there.” But it wasn’t like Ichigo minded the time it took to get from home to where they were going. Even if Grimmjow was a bit cranky from all the waiting and walking, Ichigo still enjoyed being close to him, moving to slip his own hand out of his coat pocket to slide closer to him and slip his fingers into Grimmjow’s pocket. Grimmjow may have been distracted by his own impatience but he definitely didn’t miss the fact that they were touching, if his eyes going wide were any indication.

It gave Ichigo a good chance to look at his face. The mask was gone, and Grimmjow looked normal without it (though he had to admit, the bones were kind of his charm point,) messy blue hair that had started to grow more when he came back to the human world for good, and piercing eyes which always caught Ichigo off guard when they looked right at him. Everything about him was beautiful to look at, which made him look away from where he’s walking so he can catch those eyes.

So much so that they nearly walked past the arcade, and it took Ichigo a moment to notice that they were nearly at the coffee shop next door. When he did notice it, he could at least turn them back around before someone got too cranky. “Here,” pulling away from him and going to grab the door, “You’ll like it in here, there’s something for everyone.” Ichigo said, leading him deeper inside of the dark building. The sounds and lights had their own levels of intensity here, but at least Ichigo picked a quiet time of day.

No fights for Grimmjow, no thank you. Especially not with kids.

“C’mon!” Ichigo said, a grin right on his face, pulling Grimmjow over to one of the fighting games to plop him down on the seat in front of it. “It’s like fighting in real life but less blood on your face.” Considering that Grimmjow was still looking all over the place, and seemed to be ready to strike at any time, Ichigo really needed to just place him down and let him attempt to relax. Though the idea of ‘relaxing’ for Grimmjow seemed a far off and bizarre concept.

“Tch. What’s the fun of fightin’ if there’s not any blood?!” Grimmjow let out a grunt as he looked to the screen, his fingers moving to slam on some of the buttons in front of him, grumbling, “Why isn’t it doin’ anything?!”

Ichigo sighed, his hands dragging down his face, “Just wait a minute, okay?” Grimmjow was always in a rush to get things going and Ichigo really just needed him to wait. Just be patient for a moment while he got the coins into the slot. “Okay. Now you press the button to pick your fighter, and you use the stick with the ball and buttons to fight. Practice a bit first and then we can fight.”

“Nah, fuck that. Fight me now, Kurosaki!” Almost a roar coming out of Grimmjow’s mouth, and Ichigo knew that telling him to practice first when it came to fighting was not a great idea. He expected it, and just let it happen. Either way, he was amused by the result in the end, and couldn’t help but hide a chuckle. “Oy! What are you laughin’ about?! Sit down and fight!”

~ ~ ~

Grimmjow just wasn’t satisfied with a few matches between the pair of them. Every time one ended, he demanded to do another one, and Ichigo provided the coins to do just that. The competitive streak that came out in Grimmjow was impressive. Win or lose, he wanted to keep going, and Ichigo, with his own streak deep inside of him, was more than happy to agree to more and more matches. Even if it was draining his pockets of coins. And hours later, they had been fighting enough that if Ichigo wasn’t keeping track, they might not know who was winning.

“Okay. We’re tied. I think that’s enough.”

“Fuck that! Put in some more coins, Kurosaki! I wanna keep fightin’ you!” Grimmjow said, letting out a growl to show dominance, his fingers flexing (after watching Ichigo do it, of course), “Don’t wuss out now.” Leaning forward on the board, trying to challenge Ichigo with the tone of his voice, the smirk starting to play on his lips. Because no matter what was going on, no matter what kind of relationship they had, Grimmjow would not give up on challenging Ichigo.

Which was charming. Also, frustrating. But mostly charming.

“I’ve got something better for us. Besides, you look like you’re going to lose this next one.”

“Fuck that! Bring it on!”

And with that, Ichigo (without dragging Grimmjow surprisingly,) took him over to a large machine near the front of the arcade. It was one Ichigo had just breezed by because he knew he had to get Grimmjow hooked with violence before he could get him into something a little less violent. After all, if someone hasn’t experienced an arcade before? Try something that the person would like elsewhere and then drag them around the arcade to push them into other games. He had done that before with Renji, and he’s definitely got to drag him along again some time. Grimmjow was a big trickier to deal with, but getting into his competitive drive was the easiest thing he could ever do.

The machine? Dance Dance Revolution.

Grimmjow just grunted as he climbed onto the machine pad to stomp on the pads, just to see what everything did. “The hell is this?” Stomping again, now landing on one of the arrows. Grunting as each of the arrows pressed down, and stomping on each one.

Ichigo pulled out his wallet to drop his coins into the machine, “It’s a dancing game. Just wait a minute, got it? I’m getting us started.” Even if he could hear Grimmjow stomping behind him on the pad, not listening to Ichigo at all. Naturally. Since he got that competitive side burning, he really just wanted to fight right back.

“What kinda competition is that?” Grimmjow grunted, still pressing on the arrows no matter how angry he seemed to be about it, “C’mon, giving up on fighting me?” When Ichigo got the coins in and looked back towards Grimmjow, he just caught that shit eating grin that told him that he was in for one hell of a fight later on.

Not that Ichigo was at all against that. But later, they had some more competitions to do before the arcade got crowded, and Ichigo didn’t want to let Grimmjow strike back against him without hitting right back. And what better way than kicking his ass in yet another way.

“No chance. By the way, you’ll want to play on the easiest mode. It’s harder than you think it is.”

“Shut up and let’s go, Kurosaki!”

~ ~ ~

This took less time than the fighting games, but only because Grimmjow still wasn’t completely used to being in his new body. He still kept up with Ichigo. Stumbling at first, but by the end, looking like he’s about to pass out, Grimmjow was keeping up with Ichigo on the harder maps. Bonus? Grimmjow’s definitely worn out and it’ll be a while before he has to worry about curbing that fighting enthusiasm again.

“Tch… let’s… let’s keep going…” Even when he’s out of breath, he wants to keep fighting Ichigo. Impressive (and ridiculous,) Ichigo was sure that if he hadn’t stopped them, Grimmjow would have gone until he passed right out. 

But Ichigo himself had reached the end of his own rope, breathing in a little bit of air as he gripped on the back bar, “Hell no…” Shutting his eyes and just breathing. “We’ll do it… we’ll do it later… let’s just go home…” Holy shit, he’s exhausted. He doesn’t normally get exhausted, he has one hell of a stamina level, but a competition is draining. And Grimmjow is one hell of a competitive guy. Just the way he likes it.

Even if it wears him out.

“Fuck… fuck you…” Grimmjow groaned as he started to stand up straight again. He ran his fingers through his hair to swipe away the swear, a droplet flicking out as Ichigo looked over at him. For whatever reason, he felt himself getting hotter despite having finished the workout. Wait, was that really that hot?

Oh shit, he’s really burning up. At least he can hide it behind him working out so hard to try and keep up with the guy as he started getting better. But yeah, Grimmjow? Attractive as hell. Maybe Urahara should get something as thanks that isn’t Ichigo pointing a sword at his face (then again if he doesn’t want that, he shouldn’t encourage it.)

Because **damn**.

“We… we gotta get groceries… so stand the hell up…” Ichigo grunted out, shutting his eyes and letting out another gasp as he fully stood up, getting his jiggly legs underneath him, “D… Don’t pass out…”

Okay, a few more minutes. Shoot, he should have brought water with them.

~ ~ ~

After that was done and he could finally convince Grimmjow to leave the arcade, (and get them some water because dear god,) they headed out towards the grocery store. But before they got too far, Ichigo did have something to say to Grimmjow, turning his head to look right at him, “Hey. Good job, first timer.” Grimmjow was in the midst of drinking more water to help his body cool down. “You really were something else out there.”

And though Grimmjow was a prideful man, who could boast with the best of them, Ichigo did get to see a hint of pink on those cheeks. Not from working out so hard, but… “Shut up, Kurosaki. I’ll kick your ass next time.” Let’s face it, he’s never going to let himself appear weak in front of Ichigo, but Ichigo didn’t need that to know he enjoyed his day. He already had proof enough of that. Even if Grimmjow was warm and red, the additional blush of pink showing up on his face just made Ichigo even more pleased.

They weren’t too far from the store, (everything was close by in this town,) so thankfully they didn’t have to worry about their shaky legs taking too long to get there. Ichigo got the basket, his legs already starting to feel better, while Grimmjow stood up and pretended like he wasn’t about to just fall over with every step, (which he wasn’t really hiding well at all.) The store was quiet enough that they could take their time walking through the aisles.

This only illuminated that Grimmjow had such little knowledge of the Human world even further. Every item they passed, Grimmjow had to look at it closer and try and figure out what it was. For most things, it was fine. He can read, he can figure it out, and Ichigo lets him do what he wants for the most part. There were occasionally things he (should) step in to deal with. Like Grimmjow grabbing cans of coffee to try and put in the cart.

“It says Boss!”

“You’ll hate it.”

“I wanna try it.”

“You’re going to hate it.”

But Grimmjow put it into his basket and Ichigo doesn’t stop him. It’s fine. He’ll drink it when Grimmjow decides he doesn’t want it. Grimmjow stalked the aisles behind Ichigo, with his hands in his pockets, looking over all of the labels and trying to decide what else he wants to throw in their basket. And for the most part, Ichigo pays attention.

Sometimes he just feels his basket getting heavier for no reason other than Grimmjow putting things in there that he didn’t plan on buying. Looking over, he mostly just lets it go. Until it starts getting really heavy, and Icihgo swears that his arm is going to get ripped off.

“Grimmjow!” He said, in a lowered voice, “Stop throwing things in there.”

Grimmjow just grumbled as he was holding a box of chocolate, not trying to look like he was sniffing it too badly. He didn’t even curse Ichigo out, almost looking ashamed of what he was doing. Almost. He didn’t want to ask Ichigo what it was, and decided to just grab it.

He still put it in the basket anyway and kept going. Ichigo decided to pull out his phone and check if chocolate was good for cats. Just to be safe.

~ ~ ~

After their trip, (Ichigo convinced Grimmjow to let him put some things back,) he was able to get them out of the store and heading home. But curiosity didn’t fully kill the cat yet, and Grimmjow’s stomach was growling as they passed by a takoyaki street vendor. His eyes shooting right over to it and moving to step closer and get a big whiff of what was cooking.

“Oy. Kurosaki. Get me that.” Pointing to the balls that were cooking. Ichigo didn’t even blink, instead moving in and pulling out his wallet to pay for a tray of them. A simple thanks to the vendor before he walked away with them. Grimmjow trailed a few steps behind, reaching out to grab one away from Ichigo, before they’re tugged out of his grasp. “Oy! The hell?”

“You don’t just get them for free, Grimmjow. You have to give me something first.”

“Tch. What, another one of your stupid human traditions?”

“Yeah.” Ichigo thought about it for a moment and then looked at Grimmjow. “You gotta give me a kiss for every one you eat.”

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes, as if scanning Ichigo’s face to see if he was making shit up. But Ichigo kept it straight and didn’t give any tells whether he was lying or not. Slowly, Grimmjow looked from Ichigo’s face and then down to the balls in front of him. As if he was determining if it was worth it in the end. But Ichigo held the tray out in front of him, just for Grimmjow to look at.

And then, Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo’s chin to pull him in for a kiss. Not a long kiss. A quick kiss, a kiss that lasted for only a few seconds so he can snatch one of the toothpicks and pop the ball into his mouth. “Tch. Think you’re slick? You don’t scare me.”

And Ichigo didn’t have an answer back. He’s a blushing red from the kiss, but he has no regrets. After all, at the end of the day?

He won.


End file.
